Fig Chutney

Couple of months back, we went to visit one of my favorite shopping streets in Bangalore called Commercial Street! It used to be one of my favorite places to stroll around with friends, gobble street food and shop lots of clothes plus shoes. I visited the street nearly after 6 years and it felt so different this time, although nothing really changed. Still the similar hustle bustle and the shops looked pretty much the same with few additions here and there. My plan was to shop my heart out, to recreate those days with my boys, even if for a while. After crossing several lanes, Arvind looked at me wondering why wasn’t I buying anything. Somehow nothing was catching my attention and at the same time, I couldn’t stop worrying if Avyan was getting tired. We were out there for a very long time.

We wandered a few more lanes and just when we were about to leave the street, we crossed this old man selling fruits on a small cart. Since Avyan enjoys fruits, I had to stop by. There were mangoes, plums, grapes and just one lonely box of fresh figs. Fresh figs! Believe it or not, I almost screamed in delight because I just couldn’t believe seeing those fresh figs! Dried figs are easily available out here and I ate a lot of those but fresh ones, I never saw before that day. First time I ate fresh figs was during our stay in US and I was certainly missing it over here. And there it was, a box full of fresh green figs.

Our long walk in Commercial Street didn’t go waste after all.

Arvind doesn’t enjoy fig as much. So my baby boy and I ate it all. Just like that, plain. Popping in one after another. Next time, when I found it again in an online grocery store, I decided to make it last for a little longer than the previous time. Plus it was Sunday and we needed to come up with some breakfast. Hence, chutney felt quite appropriate.

Chutney is probably one of the most effortless condiments one can make at home and this particular one is as easy as it gets. It’s savory sweet with a hint of heat from chili flakes. A great combination to go with cheese! Make it a part of your cheese platter or just spread it on bread, top it with cheese slices and make a quick sandwich. Absolutely delicious!

Fig Chutney

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

500 gram fresh figs, finely chopped

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon nigella seeds

1 teaspoon chili flakes

salt to taste

oil

Instructions

In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and splatter the whole spices (mustard seeds, cumin seeds and nigella seeds). After a couple of seconds, drop the chopped figs and sprinkle salt along with chili flakes. Stir and let it cook until the figs soften and get sticky.

I’ve recently bought a tiny jar of fig jam and it’s so delicious that I only have a small portion to lengthen the experience of its jammy goodness. Once figs are in season here, I’m going to make your fig chutney! Cannot wait.

About

Hey there! I am Kankana and this is my culinary space where I unfold memories, share stories and try new flavours. Easy effortless cooking with fresh ingredients is my mantra and I like to carry that in my everyday meal.